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Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Flaked Parsley Salad with Black Olives and Cheese

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Those of you who have traveled the backroads and byways of the Mediterranean are probably familiar with this salad. I learned of it ten years ago while paging through an article written by Paula Wolfert, a respected food writer and teacher with expertise in the food of the region. The recipe was unusual enough to catch my eye and simple enough to hold my attention. While I love to serve the salad with grilled meat or fish, I also like to incorporate it as an ingredient in other recipes that will be featured later in the week. Its main ingredient is fresh curly parsley. Lots of it. The parsley leaves are removed from the stems and torn into tiny bits. It's really important that no short cuts be taken with this step. Large clumps and stems will spoil this salad and make it quite ordinary. Once you have about four cups of shredded parsley flakes they are combined will olives and shallots and tossed with the simplest of oil and vinegar dressings. The resulting salad is delicious when it's made with really fresh parsley. It's not worth your while to make it with parsley of an uncertain age. Older parsley is tough and the salad will taste like rabbit fodder. It's also important not to dress the salad until just before serving. The salad becomes compacted if it sits too long after the oil and vinegar have been added. I first made this out of curiosity, but what began as an experiment has become a regular feature of my summer table despite its pains and pitfalls. I know that many of you share my passion for the unusual, so I decided to post this recipe despite its simplicity. I really think you'll like it. Here's the recipe.

Now Mary, I love all your recipes and have made any number of them, but I am going to stop and think about this one. I am not a big parsley fan. I love black olives and Pecorino-Romano though.Perhaps I'll make a tiny one with the freshest parsley I can find and see what happens!

should I say "virile"? :) A very healthy, fresh salad like this would certainly take one beyond the Mediterranean dream! This one convinced me to grow my own herb garden...nothing like the freshly cut herbs in your salad...And my "h" in herbs is not silent :)

I love parsley- especially as a main ingredient in a salad. I think it's generally underused as a main ingredient however, which is a shame. Anyway, the flavour would be the same with flat leaf (Italian) parsley wouldn't it, and more in keeping with the Mediterranean provenance? I prefer to eat flat leaf!

First, have you ever had Lebanese tabbouleh salad which uses parsley as its base? I love parsley, but as an Italian would insist on flat leaf parsley which imo is much more flavorful than its curly cousin. I use curly parsley as a decorative garnish only. Do you have an opinion?

Mary.....My husband will love this. I have lots of parsley growing in my herb garden and my husband being from a Turkish background. Well....we always have Kalamata olives in the fridge. He eats them daily.Great recipe and gorgeous picture. Thanks you for sharing :-)

Such a vibrant and beautifully green salad. I'm growing curly parsley in my garden, but hadn't thought of using it as a base for salad. The flavors must be lovely and a great idea. Looking forward to trying it!

Mary...the blend of worcestershire sauce and cider vinegar...simply got my attention ;o)I'll be honest...I've only used curly parsley for garnish...and may now give it the chance it obviously deserves.

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